summary: summer had just begun, petunia would spend all of the three months at her boyfriend's, your parents were now away for a while. thank goddess for your older sister that is coming home with her whole group of friends. and since they're ridiculously attractive you don't mind at all!
tags/warnings: english is not my first language. evans!reader, muggle!reader, younger sister!reader, reader is only one year younger than lily, reader unlike petunia is extremely proud of lily and so supportive. the marauders + marlene being infatuated w reader, mention of wolfstar, curse words, reader not knowing about the upcoming war and arguing w lily because of it. severus slender. this takes place the summer before their 7th year. (not proofread!!!)
pairing: james potter x fem!reader
Even if Lily’s owl brings you a letter the evening before (which your mind still can’t comprehend how the hell is that even possible) that she and her friends will arrive at home late in the morning, you still wake up at 8 a.m. sharp.
You are all alone— your parents have taken a flight to enjoy themselves in the first weeks of summer, and your oldest sister Petunia is also somewhere far away with her new insufferable boyfriend, so it’s you who has to take care of the house now, well, at least until Lily comes back home.
At first you stay all sprawled over the couch, groaning and huffing like you didn’t choose to wake up so early, but after you eat something you start to clean the kitchen, then the living room, then the guest room over and over again.
It’s not like your older sister didn’t tell you that her friends would come over for a few weeks, because she did— even weeks earlier.
The truth is that you are a nervous wreck, firstly because you haven’t seen your sister since spring break, second because her friends are older than you and, with a cherry on top, are witches or wizards, as Lily has corrected you multiple times.
So what if they find you completely annoying? Or worse, totally ignore you for the rest of their stay? That would be totally embarrassing for you, and if that were the case then you would probably stay locked in your bedroom until they are gone.
You groan for the hundredth time in a row in those last hours, trying to keep your face neutral since it is starting to hurt from frowning so much while thinking so low of yourself.
You keep yourself occupied for the last hours, cleaning the house until you can actually see your reflection on the pavement and on the windows. Then you even decide to bake a cake at first, then a few muffins, then some pancakes, and then cookies, and so it goes on until the kitchen looks like a bakery.
Then, with slumped shoulders, you clean the kitchen again and position the sweets on the table so they look like a fresh photo from a magazine.
When you look at the clock your heart almost gets caught in your throat, because in a few minutes they will arrive and you still look like a mess— apron still on, dirty with flour and dough. Underneath you still have your pajamas on, which are in fact not flattering at all and not quite right to meet new people, and let’s not even talk about your hair, the curlers are still on and the hairpins are digging into your head.
With wide eyes and a racing heart you quickly remove the apron and put it in the basket of dirty laundry (that thank God is empty) and run upstairs, locking yourself in the bathroom.
With fast movements you freshen up, brush your teeth, and remove the rollers. You only apply a bit of gloss on your lips, today is one of those days when you look at your reflection in the mirror and are satisfied with your face even without makeup on. You have time to change into an outfit (that of course you had chosen the night before) and spray a lot of perfume all over you before you hear the doorbell.
You rush downstairs careful not to twist your ankle, or both while doing so, and before opening the door you stay a few feet away, collecting yourself, breathing in and out, putting on your best smile. Then you slowly open the door, and when you see your sister in front of you, you really can’t contain your excitement, jumping at her and hugging her tightly.
“Oh, how I missed you!” you murmur into the crook of her neck as Lily mumbles back, “I missed you too, so much.” When you break the hug your sister’s hands find your face and Lily, with red and teary eyes, admires you with a big smile on her face.
“You’ve grown up so much since the last time I saw you!” you brush it off laughing lightly, trying not to blush too much.
Marlene, next to her, coughs, catching your attention. “Marls!” you call, finding yourself shifting into her friend’s embrace. Of course you know Marlene, she’s pretty much the only friend of your sister you’ve known about. She has been visiting quite a lot since her first year, mostly during summer, but sometimes even Christmas and spring break, and you don’t mind at all. She would always bring this good energy into the house.
When your eyes catch the figures of four guys behind Lily and Marlene, you suddenly remember why you were so nervous in the first place.
You step aside, leaving the door open.
“Oh my God, come on in, I’m so sorry.”
Three out of four of them are ridiculously tall and very attractive which somehow makes everything worse because on the outside you might look calm, even confident if you must but inside you’re screaming.
You quickly run through Lily’s letter in your head:
1. Don’t stare too much at the scar of…? (You can’t even remember right now) And don’t ask about them, besides that he’s really nice— i think you two have actually a lot in common.
2. Do not flirt with the guy with long hair. Absolutely prohibited.
3. The short one is a sweetheart, but quiet. If he doesn’t talk it’s not because of you, he’s just shy around new people.
4. The one with the glasses? Eh, he’s just annoying. Don’t flatter him at all, is ego is already big.
You actually take your sister’s suggestions, but really have to see these things for yourself though. Lily is friend with Severus after all and you never liked that bloke one bit.
Everyone puts their bags down and after a not-so-friendly glare from Lily, the four guys finally introduce themselves.
Sirius, who is in fact annoyingly attractive, and worse, fully aware of it— takes your hand and bows theatrically to kiss it. That earns an eye-roll from everyone and a light smack to the back of his head from Remus. He is next to introduce himself, he gives you a sleepy, gentle smile before shaking your hand lightly.
Next is Peter, who introduces himself in the same way his friend did before, just a bit more awkward, but you can see the sweetness behind it.
The last one, a guy with round glasses, puffs his chest slightly before stepping forward, not quite meeting your eyes. Maybe he’s embarrassed or maybe he thinks he’s too important to even acknowledge you properly. For a moment you think that i may be the second option but then he smiles brightly at you, taking your hand with his left hand and then covering it with his right.
“James Potter, a pleasure.”
You hear Lily scoff beside you as you politely say your name again for the fourth time.
When you pull your hand away, it almost feels like you’ve been burned, like you’re already missing the touch of someone you’ve just met.
You clear your throat as all their attention shifts to you. “You can leave your bags in the living room for now” you say, shrugging lightly.
“And if you’re hungry I baked something” at that their eyes light up like children.
Walking toward the kitchen, they let out a few giggles as they take in the full table of different kinds of desserts.
For a second, nobody says anything. Then Peter lets out a small, almost disbelieving gasp.
“It’s a lot” Sirius says it, meaning it more like compliment than a statement at all.
Lily shoots him another look as she brushes a hand over your shoulder, leaning in to whisper in your ear.
You don’t even let her finish, almost shouting through your whisper, “you know I’m a stress-baker!”
By now, Sirius has already moved closer to the table, completely ignoring everyone around him as he reaches for a muffin without hesitation. After the first bite he lets out a pleased sound, then points at you. “I am in love with you” he says, sounding completely serious, no pun intended.
All of them nod solemnly, agreeing with him, while James eyes you like you’re more exquisite than the cookie he’s eating. “These are great, thank you.”
You just give him an appreciative look as a small smile grows on your face.
Hours go by, and surprisingly today in London it isn’t a chilly, rainy day. It’s one of the hottest days of the entire year, even if summer has just begun.
So of course everyone is in the backyard, bathing suits on, trying to enjoy every bit of sun until you can.
You are lying on the grass, a cold drink in your hand, torturing the straw with your teeth as you giggle at something Marlene and Lily are telling you about their school year.
The rest of your sister’s friends are just next to you, listening to the story as if they weren’t there when it happened, everyone focused as Lily finishes the story— well, everyone except James.
He fears that if he looks at you more intensely your gorgeous head might explode, but it isn’t his fault at all! You just are so beautiful, smart, and hell, even funnier than he had thought, that he can’t genuinely stop himself from staring lovingly at you.
Sirius, who is next to him of course notices. He isn’t blind, like his friends, he thinks that you are a tremendous girl too (even if his eyes would always be set on Remus).
The long-haired boy snickers silently, but loud enough to awake James from his thoughts.
“What?” he asks, as his best friend gives him a knowing look.
Sirius just rolls his eyes, keeping a smirk on his lips. “Might as well just eat her, Prongs.”
James blushes, elbowing his friend who even dares to say such things when you are right next to them.
When Sirius and James get distracted, the topic between their friends shifts pretty quickly. Now you are more comfortable and less nervous around them, and you are asking every insignificant but absolutely fascinating (to you) question about their world.
“So what, unicorns are real?” you ask in total disbelief. Lily nods nonchalantly as if it isn’t the greatest news you have ever heard. You groan loudly, sad to even miss such things just because you aren’t a witch.
Your brows pull together as your eyes move to look at each one of them.
“What about vampires? Or… oh! Zombies?”
Remus chuckles, shaking his head lightly. “I don’t think so.” They are all fair questions and he isn’t surprised at all by your curiosity. What he is most scared of is what you are going to ask next.
“Mhm… werewolves?” Yes, specifically this.
Peter chokes on his drink while Sirius pats his back, and Lily gives you a warning look that you don’t quite grasp, because how could you know?
“Erm… yeah” James answers awkwardly. Poor you, who are totally unaware of the social cues, continue to ask more about the species.
“Sweet! Do they go to your special school?”
Marlene, trying to keep her cool and not burst out laughing because of the nerves, answers very quickly. “Hogwarts” she corrects you, “and no, because they’re not wizards.”
You shrug, totally annoyed at the answer. Your sister being a witch is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to you, but going to a school only for witches? Boooring!
“They’re dangerous” Remus says bluntly.
No one dares to say a thing, mostly because even after reasoning with Remus a bunch of times how he is, in fact, not dangerous, he always takes it very personally and no one can really blame him. He has always seen himself as a monster, and every time the marauders tried to change his mind, he always loses a bit of temper.
But also because they want to see your answer even if you don’t really know that you are in the presence of a real werewolf you are a smart girl after all so you can feel the palpable tension because of it, even if you don’t exactly know why.
At Remus’ statement, you shrug again.
“I guess? But it’s only one time a month and I know for a fact that they can’t control themselves. There should be a school where they learn about this sort of things, don’t you think? For being in a magic world and all, you guys are pretty behind.”
Leaving everyone speechless, you get up to fill your glass, and while doing so you don’t even notice the rest of them behind you sharing a grateful look and Remus trying to hide a smile forming on his face.
Time passes and night comes pretty quickly, lunch goes great and everyone helps make a very simple but very good pasta. Now, as the weather cools down, you all go inside, change, freshen up and start to prepare dinner, after the main things are done you all move to the living room.
You are back to interrogating them about the exciting things they do back in their own little perfect world, everyone trying to explain things as they all crowd around you because of your curiosity— mostly James, though.
He notices the way your nose scrunches when you don’t fully understand, how your eyes widen when something more magical than you even imagined actually exists, or even how your eyes always soften adorably when you listen to Lily talk.
The problem is that he really does not know how to talk to you without sounding completely foolish or making a mess of himself, but then Sirius, so full of himself and trying to show off as he always does, tells you that Gryffindor has actually won the Quidditch Cup.
You frown a bit, because even if Lily has mentioned Quidditch and briefly explained what it is, it still sounds confusing, mostly because you can’t comprehend how people can fly on a broom.
“I just don’t get it.” You shrug, chewing your lip nervously. Sirius makes it sound like the sport is in fact a big deal there, so you don’t want to sound rude when you say that.
Peter gives you a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry, me neither.” You laugh at that.
Sirius, with a mischievous look on his face, pats James on the back. “Well, you’re in luck. My friend here is actually the captain!”
Your eyes betray you as you take a good look at James Potter in front of you. He is so handsome he might as well give you an heart attack, but surprisingly you hide your nervousness pretty well.
Putting your elbows on your knees and your head in your hands, you give him an almost flirty smile or at least you try. “I’m all ears, then.”
James, who can feel the heat creeping up his neck, starts to talk, and minute after minute it becomes easier to speak to you.
You are the first person (besides his teammates) who actually enjoys listening to him talk about Quidditch. Maybe it’s because to you it’s completely unfamiliar, but at the same time you can’t hide how your heart melts listening to your sister’s friend get excited about it.
You ask numerous questions, which James actually loves to answer.
“Okay, so the bludger, right?” He nods as he waits for your tenth question in a row.
“Isn’t that a bit dangerous if it actually hits someone? Can’t you die?”
James scratches the back of his neck. “No one has ever died. If you fall, you can break a couple of bones but there are healers nearby who fix the injuries pretty quickly with magic.”
You understand most of it and grasp that an healer may be a doctor in the human world.
Even if you don’t know him at all, James is easy to talk to. Besides his stupidly adorable face that keeps distracting you from actually listening, when he explains something he doesn’t make you feel stupid and even if you’re talking about something so silly, you almost feel seen, so maybe after all you do like James Potter. Maybe a bit too much.
You give him a small smile, as if to say thank you, as your back finds the couch again. He smiles back, and the world around the two of you seems to stop, leaving you and James in a bubble that pops soon enough when Marlene’s attention shifts toward you.
“Ugh, enough about Quidditch. I really love it, but let’s talk about you now” she says, giving you a smirk.
You just shrug, a bit embarrassed, because you know that your reality isn’t as surprising as theirs— to cover that, you chuckle, “what to you want to know?”
You are an open book after all, but at the same time that is the worst possible thing you could have said because Marlene lights up instantly, “everything,” you give her a look “c’mon we haven’t seen each other in forever” she pleads.
It was true, you haven’t seen her since Christmas, but still, you don’t know how to satisfy her hunger of gossip about your life.
She tries again, as your sister watches her best friend torture you, seems to even enjoy it.
“Who do you hang out with?”
You shrug again, because you do have friends, you share lunch with them, study together and go out during the weekends, but only during school-period. In summer it’s a different story.
“Just people from school, nothing special.”
“Anyone you like?” Sirius cuts in, way too quickly to be casual.
You huff out a laugh, “you lot are nosy”.
“We’re interested” he corrects you, and you couldn’t help but to roll your eyes and mutter “in gossip”.
Marlene who proves you wrong, nudges your knees with hers and says in a softer tone “in you”.
You try again, really desperately to convince them to leave it alone, “there’s not much to say, trust me” you almost sound convincing.
Brushing her chin with her fingers, Lily, without thinking, admits, “I mean… there was that boy.”
You groan and in that exact moment you know that you’re fucked, because they may have magic or whatever, but that doesn’t stop them from being humans, teenagers more likely.
Lily realizes right after what she’s done and shoots you an apologetic look, but it’s too late.
“What boy?” Sirius asks, his body fully turning toward you, just like the rest of his friends, they all go quiet, delighted expressions on their faces as they wait for your answer, but James almost looks like he’s seen a ghost.
You shake your head. “It’s nothing.” You really don’t want to think about the guy who gave you hell during these last years and will continue to in September.
You quickly learn that Marlene and Sirius are basically the same person, because they’re putting you on the spot right now without even noticing it.
You don’t mind, it’s just that you really don’t want them to pity you just because your life is boring as hell— at least it’s what you think.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing” Marlene hums.
You sigh, already knowing you’ve lost. “He’s just annoying, alright?”
All of them lean in at the same time, clearly waiting for you to continue. You breathe in “fine” you say almost annoyed,
then you start rambling, words spilling out as your hands move vaguely,
“he’s a toerag, always following me around, trying to ask me out every chance he has, I told him no hundreds of times. Also, when he talks I just want to rip my hair out because he acts like he’s the most interesting person in the room, when he clearly isn’t. It’s just because he’s ego is too big.”
When you look around, you feel totally embarrassed about your outburst, because now they’ll just make fun of you for the rest of their stay, you can just feel it.
But instead, Sirius leans back, a grin (that you’re almost starting to be familiar with) spreading across his face.
Marlene’s eyes widen slightly before she lets out a laugh, turning to Lily. “Oh, Godric.”
You frown, looking between them. “What?”
You notice your sister trying very hard not to smile, as Remus does the same, looking down and shaking his head, while Peter doesn’t even try— he just lets out a short, surprised laugh.
You don’t even turn to see James’ reaction, but you can already guess it’s not much different.
You huff impatiently. “So?”
Lily finally sighs, rubbing her temple like she’s already tired “you just described James in first year,” she says, glancing at him before looking back at you, “with me.”
You laugh incredulously. “But that’s the difference, this guy was in fifth!”
Remus tilts his head slightly, “well…” he drags the word out “second year too” he adds,
“and third” Peter chimes in
“and fourth” Sirius concludes, giving Lily a teasing look, your sister fakes to gag at the implication.
You don’t know why, but you almost feel the word around you stop spinning when they mention all of this.
“Okay, she gets it!” James interrupts them, completely embarrassed by the whole situation.
You’re almost scared to ask, but you do anyway. “So what” your eyes move between Lily and James, “are you dating?”
“God, no!” your sister blurts out, then she stops and gives James a small look “sorry.”
He rolls his eyes, smiling “it’s alright Evans. It’s been two years, you know?”
You almost feel relieved at Lily’s answer and the way she and James interact, but you try to suppress the feeling, because you know it shouldn’t bother you anyway, you had just met the guy.
Moving on from your tremendous experience at school, they all start to talk about regular things that, for you, are far from regular at all. Sometimes, you have to interrupt, asking what the hell they’re saying with their weird wizarding words or even checking if what they’re talking about is real.
You feel a bit silly, really. Lily always tries to keep you in the loop, but not too much, so discovering new things about your sister and the world she now lives in is kind of weird, like a feeling of nostalgia hitting you in the stomach because you’re not there anymore for the best part of her life, almost like you’re losing your sister completely.
Now they’re laughing at something Sirius has said, and you’re not quite following along since you’re still thinking too hard.
Marlene touches your arm slightly, and you snap out of it immediately, giving her your most convincing smile. You don’t want to kill the mood over something so dumb.
“You okay?” she asks, a worried hint in her voice. You give her a small nod, pushing yourself up from the chair, your eyes locking with your sister’s, who is silently asking where you’re going.
“Just going to check something in the kitchen” you say quickly as you excuse yourself.
They are the loveliest people you have ever met, and oh, you adore them so, but you can’t help but feel a weird pit in your stomach every time they talk about their extravagant life with such joy. It’s not their fault, really, you love hearing about it all, but now you’re starting to feel like you’re almost missing something.
Not that you need magic to enjoy life, do you?
Someone enters the room, and it startles you a bit, because still lost in your thoughts you don’t focus on the environment around you. When you turn around, Peter is right in front of you.
“Is everything alright?” he asks.
You just give him a small smile without a proper answer.
“Can I tell you something?” he asks again, and this time you don’t stop yourself from answering with only a gesture.
“It’s not that amazing as it sounds.”
Out of everyone, Peter is the one you’ve spoken with the least, not because you don’t want to, it simply never shows the chance, but still, he has caught you in the act, so the real question is: are you really that easy to read?
You huff out a laugh in reply “it’s so easy for you to say that.”
He shakes his head, smiling back. “Trust me, it’s not. I love Hogwarts plenty, and I love my friends, but with the upcoming war, it’s not that easy and-”
He keeps talking, but your brain stops functioning the moment you hear the words upcoming war.
You lift your eyes, and suddenly Peter, bless his heart, realizes the mistake he has just made. His face goes white like he has seen a ghost, and he brings his hands up to cover his mouth.
You ask quietly, just to be sure, “upcoming war?”
The look on his face gives you the answer you fear the most, what he had just said it’s true, you move fast toward the living room.
“Upcoming war?!” you say again, not too loud, but still enough to be heard by everyone, a look of betrayal flashing across your face as you look at your sister.
The comfortable talking in the background dies down as soon as Lily gets up, reaching for you. Her mouth opens to explain what you really need to hear, but instead, without looking at anyone, you storm outside grabbing a jacket as you go.
Lily follows right after, calling after you, “could you please just let me explain!”
You turn around. “Explain? You’re so selfish!” you say loudly, “you invite your friends over, let them meet me and befriend me, while for all I know they could all die in a few months!” you gulp down the burn in your throat as you say something you didn’t even want to realize a few minutes ago.
“You could die in a few months!”
“I didn’t want to worry you” she says, hugging herself against the cold.
You scoff “I’ll worry either way because I am your sister and I love you.”
Lily nods guilty. “I know, and I love you too.”
She steps closer and pulls you into a hug, while you try not to cry. “I am sorry,” she repeats, over and over again, as she draws slow circles on your back like she used to when you were kids.
“And no one is going to die, alright? I promise.”
You breathe gently into her chest as you almost lose your balance on your tiptoes.
When you break off the hug, you look at your sister’s face, tired and truly sorry about having lied to you.
You give her a warning look, “later I want you to explain everything to me. No more secrets.”
She agrees immediately “no more secrets.”
You and Lily walk back toward the house, it doesn’t take long, the silence fills in the air, only your steps and the distant noise of the others inside.
To be honest, your chest still feels heavy after discovering an unimaginable truth, so when you reach the door, you stop, your hand hovers near the handle, but you don’t push it open.
You turn back to face your sister, who’s right behind you, taking a deep breath as a small frown forms on your face.
“What is it?” she asks gently.
You hesitate, your hands rubbing over your face, “they must think I’m a bitch right now.”
Your eyes sparkle, your lips on the verge of trembling, but your sister intervenes right away, she takes a step toward you, her features softening, placing her hands on your shoulders.
“They love you” she says gently, trying to reassure yo, but it doesn’t work well as she imagines, you look away, but she tries again anyway,
“you’re not the one in the wrong here. I should’ve told you. We would’ve all reacted the same way, if not worse.”
You take a deep breath, and even if you don’t say it, Lily can feel the thank you through your eyes.
You open the door, but when you step into the empty living room, your stomach drops, for a split second you think you’ve ruined everything, but then you hear the chattering, laughter, the sound of plates clinking from the kitchen.
You follow your sister, who takes the lead and goes in first.
Sirius and Remus are bickering about how the table should be set, while Peter fixes the napkins with precise movements— once he’s done, he passes them to James, who places them around the table completely ignoring his friends’ arguing, meanwhile Marlene is already sitting at the table, flipping through a magazine.
Before you can say anything, Marlene glances up and stands, making her way toward you and Lily.
“Oh, there you are. Don’t leave me alone with these four ever again” she pleads jokingly.
“Oi!” Sirius scolds her, but she doesn’t even reply, she just raises her hand and flips him off, which earns an eye roll from the boy, “classy.”
She blows him a kiss like nothing happened.
Lily lets out a small breath beside you, relieved that that’s all it is. This is why she cares about them so deeply, they don’t even bother asking what to do, they just do it, and somehow it works every time.
Remus, who looks like a tired mum of five, claps his hands together “well, dinner’s ready! Let’s sit!”
You nod quickly, still a bit caught between everything, and take your seat, which just so happens to be next to James.
You don’t think too much about it, but you’re glad it happened
While the others keep talking and passing plates, James leans slightly closer, lowering his voice just for you “you okay?” he asks.
When you turn toward him, you realize your faces are only a few inches apart. You smile a bit stupidly, and when he notices, he does the same, murmuring a quick “sorry” as the redness creeps back into his face for the third time that day, then he goes back to stare down at his plate.
“I’m okay” you say, a bit hesitant.
He turns back to you again, this time keeping a little more distance (which you think is a shame)and he gives you one of the prettiest smiles you’ve ever seen.
He brushes your arm briefly with his hand, maybe he’s just trying to comfort you or maybe it was just a stupid excuse so he could touch you.
You let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding, and again it feels like the space around you stops, but it doesn’t— because Sirius smirks and elbows Remus to make him notice the interaction, and Remus does the same with Peter, while Marlene and Lily glance between you and James, then at each other, silently confirming what they’re both seeing: the two of you, completely into each other.
Dinner goes on, the kitchen filling again with overlapping voices and laughter, and you let yourself enjoy everything.
You’re still overwhelmed, sure, but somehow, it feels easier now.
